


The Next Robin

by Anaya_of_Wolves



Series: Welcome to the Family, Starling [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: April Fools' Day, Dress Up, Gen, Genderswap, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Slight Fear, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-12-30 21:02:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18322016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anaya_of_Wolves/pseuds/Anaya_of_Wolves
Summary: “I want to be the next Robin!”All sounds within the kitchen early that morning halted to a dead silence.  Every one of the members of the Wayne family turned to the young girl wearing a crafted yellow and green suit that had been very clearly put together by what she could find accessible.Instead of a mask on her face, the faints traces of smudge marks under her eyes told how Miranda had probably tried to use face paint to replicate the mask and decided otherwise.  The red shirt she wore was much bigger than her body and hung to her knees, which completely covered what she had worn as the green bottoms. There was a belt that barely hung around her waist.  The green socks Miranda wore were both different colors and different lengths. The cape was actually a yellow towel that had been taken out of her bathroom.





	The Next Robin

**Author's Note:**

> Actually inspired by a dream I had, I figured a small little snippet for this AU would be something nice and quick to write for today. Honestly, I think is a funny and enlightening little thing into the lives of this family. Just the worry in hearing something they all dread really makes it all worth it.
> 
> I am a little bit of a sadist sometimes. Oh well!

“I want to be the next Robin!”

All sounds within the kitchen early that morning halted to a dead silence.  Every one of the members of the Wayne family turned to the young girl wearing a crafted yellow and green suit that had been very clearly put together by what she could find accessible.  

Instead of a mask on her face, the faints traces of smudge marks under her eyes told how Miranda had probably tried to use face paint to replicate the mask and decided otherwise.  The red shirt she wore was much bigger than her body and hung to her knees, which completely covered what she had worn as the green bottoms. There was a belt that barely hung around her waist.  The green socks Miranda wore were both different colors and different lengths. The cape was actually a yellow towel that had been taken out of her bathroom.

She looked adorable, had she not said those words in that particular way.  October was months away, so that left all of the adults of the family giving the little girl poorly concealed,  _ horrified  _ looks.

Miranda continued to grin at them all, soon giggling when she couldn’t hold them back.  All of their faces were amusing her. She really didn’t understand the gravity of her words, really.  All she knew she had done was shocked them by saying such a thing. There was no reference point of how and why the namesake had been currently retired.

She didn’t know the pain behind it, the deaths, the hurt, the jealousy, and the resurrection.  All she knew was that it had been a nickname of her mama’s mama and papa, and it was the name she, her mommy, and her aunts used.

Miranda didn’t know that it was a name that Rikki, Jacin, and all of them  **didn’t** want her to have in order to keep her from a fate that they wouldn’t be able to save her from.

“M-Miranda,” Rikki finally managed to get out, stumbling out of the chair and over to her adopted daughter.  A thousand and one thoughts raced through her head at what her daughter had told her. The horrors of what happened to her and what could happen to Miranda were enough to choke her.  She couldn’t tell the little girl just how those words pierced her heart and made her want to beg for her to not want that.

“Sweetie, Starling,” the woman continued, kneeling down to get on Miranda’s height and stare at her.  She thought of anything to say, knowing that she hated to crush a dream of a child but THAT dream was one she didn’t want Miranda to have.  At all.

“Yes, hehe, mama?” Miranda asked back, sweetly and so innocently that one would have suspected something was up with the tone of voice that she had.  But she had managed to shock them all into that silent stupor, which would have been the greatest achievement the little girl if she knew. But all she knew was that she had managed to fool them.

“You, are you, is that what you want to be when you get older?” Rikki asked in a soft voice, soon hearing behind her someone or someones suck in a deep breath.

They would argue and fight against that, Rikki knew that.  Each and every one of them would deny Miranda that title to keep her safe.  It hadn’t been thought of through malice or hate, since they all continued to work as masked heroes.  

But they all knew the price that came with it.  Both the entrance fee and the continuing debt they all paid.  It was a heavy burden to bear, but it meant that the world would and could be safe for Miranda to grow up in.  If that was what to happen, they would all gladly continue to fight for her dreams to become reality.

But some dreams were not the ones they wanted to have happen.

“Mmmmaybe,” Miranda drawled out, still not able to stop giggling occasionally as she continued to stand there.  She didn’t know when it was a good time to drop the ball, so to speak. It had to be good, because then it would make all this the best.

Rikki still made a face that Miranda thought looked like a fish out of water, “M-maybe?  Are you-?”

“Absolutely not!” Demetria interrupted, standing up while slamming her hands down on the table.  Several glasses and plates rattled, and the former of those nearly spilled over. She looked ready to launch a thousand and one arguments, a silent fire raging in her eyes.

But she would never get to say those arguments.

“April Fools!”

A rush of air entered the room once the little girl said those words.  All shoulders dropped as the family took in deep breaths. The relief was a godsend.

Rikki looked the most relieved, bowing her head a bit before raising it to flash her daughter a bright smile.  It was to hide the fact that she had felt the strongest sense of worry in her life. To think that her daughter might want to pick up the hero trade, that was a nightmare she had many times before.

“You got us good there, starling,” she told Miranda, who continued to smile.  Rikki smiled back, standing back up and rubbing the top of the girl’s hair. They both then walked over to the breakfast table that had resumed conversations.  It had been done more to get the tense air that had just been there. For Miranda’s sake, at least. None wanted to tell the little girl just how afraid she had made them all feel in that very moment.

But, for a prank, it sure had been a hell of a surprise for them all.


End file.
